When You Don’t Get Along With Your Husband - Chapter 2

“Give them just this much room. Tatiana, do you understand what I’m saying?”

No, Mother. I don’t understand at all. Tatiana smiled wryly, having only ever used her ability to gauge others when assessing an opponent’s skill during sparring matches.

“You’re not a child anymore so I won’t follow you around, but if anything happens, make sure to look our way and consult with us. We’ll be nearby.”

Although the Duchess had a rather fastidious personality, her concern for her adopted daughter making her official debut in society was genuine.

The maids also nodded, half worried and half smiling.

‘Miss, everything else is fine, but please don’t talk about exercise when you’re there.’

It’s as boring as men repeating stories about their military training. But we actually know you do it on purpose. To drive people away when you’re tired of dealing with them!

Is that why you sometimes show off your cute muscles to us too? You absolutely must not do that there…… You shouldn’t……

The faces of the maids praying for Tatiana to return safely from the party were sincere.

Suddenly feeling an unnecessary sense of responsibility and pressure, Tatiana avoided their gaze, but the Duchess added one more thing.

“Your father is also very worried about you.”

When even her adoptive father was mentioned, Tatiana began to feel like the party she had to attend today was some kind of war.

But there’s a saying that knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle. Whatever it is, you need to know your current position first.

Tatiana wondered, being very cold and rational, if there would even be anyone interested in her?

Even a hedgehog thinks its own offspring is cute. Shouldn’t they all be worried first about whether I’ll end up alone at today’s party? I think there’s a high chance I’ll come back without having said a single word. But actually, that’s my real goal. To become the silent stone pillar of the party venue.

Not knowing her current position, of course, nor the future that would unfold just a few hours later, Tatiana looked at her reflection in the mirror with a “Hmm.”

* * *

Tatiana stood still like a stone pillar in the banquet hall, just as she had intended. After greeting the adults who were acquainted with the Mullers and parting from them, she had remained in this state.

“One, two, three……”

Bored, she began counting the grayish-white stone pillars in the hall.

Since she had decided to be like a pillar anyway, she might as well know which number pillar she was. After all, serial numbers are important for soldiers.

She was exactly the fifty-third pillar.

At this point, let’s make a very cliché statement. Everyone is the protagonist of their own life. However, to add an even more cliché remark, the probability that you are not the protagonist of this world is extremely high.

It’s never easy to gain attention among this combative crowd, regardless of gender, who all want to show off. And we encounter this harsh reality from a surprisingly young age.

With realizations like: My face isn’t as pretty as Maria’s next door, I’m not as smart as my older sister, Their father is a duke but mine is just a count, Why is my dad bowing his head to that person? and so on.

Similarly, when first picking up a sword, everyone thinks they could become at least a royal guard, but as they age, that grand dream gradually shrinks.

Sometimes, it cruelly shrivels up. From the capital’s guard, to a low-ranking soldier in the provinces, and finally to a village vigilante who isn’t even issued a uniform.

However, Tatiana’s expectation of being able to distance herself from the center of the party as Pillar 53 of this banquet hall was spectacularly off the mark.

(Former) Tatiana Bloom.

(Current) Tatiana Muller.

Her birth father was a war hero more popular than the king, and her birth mother was the second-in-command of the notoriously haughty Magic Tower.

Their marriage, orchestrated by the royal family and completed by her father’s passionate courtship, was a matter of utmost interest, and Tatiana was born carrying everyone’s expectations.

The child of the kingdom’s geniuses. Without any exaggeration, she was already famous as a fetus in her mother’s womb. In fact, that was when she was most famous.

That interest naturally faded as Tatiana grew up. She didn’t live up to people’s expectations, and her birth parents had already passed away.

But even now, gossipmongers were glancing at Tatiana and whispering.

Perhaps because she had rarely ventured out since taking refuge with the Muller family. Tatiana was seen as a hidden gem carefully concealed by Duke Muller. The curious gazes directed at her had even become more persistent.

“How do I overcome this predicament?”

Tatiana was good at pretending not to see, and skilled at acting as if she couldn’t hear others’ words.

However, the moment she detected Man 1 approaching her precisely, she felt perplexed. To make matters worse, she caught sight of Man 2 and Man 3 moving as well. It was due to her unnecessarily wide field of vision, a result of her sword training.

‘No. Don’t come. I don’t know how to refuse gracefully.’

Just as Tatiana was considering whether she should return to her adoptive parents, the grand doors of the hall opened, and her dilemma was instantly resolved.

The arrival of those who drew everyone’s attention. It was the royal family of Valter. And among them was the man who always stood at the apex of the group, Gideon Ainsler.

The Valter royals walked across the hall one by one.

The Queen, who was said to be wielding influence over state affairs in place of the bedridden King, and Prince Vaikal, her only child. Princess Scarlet Ainsler, the daughter of the late former Queen.

These three took their seats, while Gideon separated from them and headed towards the young officials he always kept around him.

As the wolf-like gazes of the nobles shifted from her to Gideon, Tatiana felt a sense of relief. And she too could quietly observe him as one of the spectators.

Perhaps because it had been too long, she unconsciously recalled the day she first saw Gideon.

That clear and peaceful autumn day when she was 13.

The soft cotton-like clouds. The gentle westerly wind blowing.

As that moment fleetingly passed through her mind, Tatiana suddenly…… wanted to tear her hair out.

Tatiana remembers that time like this. It was the brightest and most innocent period of her life, but also the stupidest.

In other words, it’s a memory she wants to erase.

‘I was crying with a runny nose then, wasn’t I?’

What an utter embarrassment.

‘Then I suddenly smiled and did a sword dance?’

Ah, you fool. You fool. Why did I do that?

What was the single word that Tatiana, who had been frozen, blurted out like a bursting bubble when she saw Gideon?

‘……A prince?’

It wasn’t something she said because she had heard anything specific about Valter’s First Prince.

It wasn’t a rational deduction at all, but purely an exclamation that came out reflexively because he looked like a prince from a fairy tale.

So Tatiana wants to blame his appearance a bit, not just kick herself under the covers.

Why has that face never neglected its duty for even a moment since such a young age? Isn’t his beauty working too hard?

The fortunate thing in this misfortune is that Gideon wasn’t just princely in appearance, but was actually a prince.

Why is this fortunate? Well, imagine if he had been the son of one of the countless knights who frequented the mansion.

Tatiana might have become close to that knight’s son as she grew up. Then he would have teased her mercilessly.

‘By the way, why did you call me prince back then? Tania, am I that handsome?’ he might have said.

If he had mocked her like that, Tatiana might not have been able to resist gripping her sword handle tightly.

‘Right. I avoided murder. That’s fortunate. But even this much doesn’t feel like a mental victory?’

Tatiana had encountered the prince quite often even after that young day.

Perhaps out of respect for Sir Bloom, Gideon often sought sword training at the Bloom household instead of the royal training grounds.

And because of the memory of their first meeting, Tatiana felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed whenever she encountered Gideon. But now that she can laugh about it, it seems childhood memories do get beautified bit by bit.

It was when she was smiling, appreciating his beauty that was still fulfilling its duty today as always. The nobles didn’t let Tatiana quietly indulge in old memories.

Whispers could be heard from somewhere.

“It seems His Highness the Prince is not interested in the party today either.”

“Well, he’s always like that.”

“It’s worrying, really. He doesn’t even glance at women……”

There’s always light and shadow for famous people. Behind admiring gazes, envy and dark rumors often follow.